langdon



July 12, 1932. E,.L ANGDQN 1,867,514

POSTAL FRANKING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 26, 1929 July 12,1932.

F. E LANGDON POSTAL FRANKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 26. 1929 3vSheets-Sheet2 July 12, 1932.

F. E. LANGDON POSTAL FRANKING MACHINE 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec.26

Patented July 12, 1932 .FBANK EDWARD LANGDON, F BROMLEY, ENGLANZD'POSTAL FEANKING MACHINE Application filed December 26, 1929;5611211110-416,-586, an d inuGreat Britain January'28, 1929.

V This invention relates to machines of the kind in which stamps,slogans or other mat-' ter either separately or in combination areprinted uponenvelopes or other articles of mail matter as they are'fedthrough a machine adapted for continuous operation.

The object of the present invention is to provide a number ofimprovements inmachines of the character above indicated but moreparticularly to 'PIOVIClB a machme m.

which a large variety of valuesisavailable and also in which if desired,stamps of each value can be printed in a design different magazineandposition it operatively in the printing element.

. In order that the invention may beproperly understood, reference willnow be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one form ofthe invention as applied to a machine in which articles to be printed orstamped are fed over a rotating printing drum and in which I Figure 1 isaside elevation of the'machine partly in section,

Figures 2 and 3are sectional end elevations looking in oppositedirections, 7

' Figure a is a sectional side elevation looking at the opposite sideof'the machinefrom that shown in Figure 1, I V

Figureh is a detail view showing the printing drum, magazine andassociatedparts in side elevation,

Figure 6 is Figure 5 and r V Figure 7 is an enlarged detail view of partof the driving mechanism forthe counter. The machine shown in thedrawingscomprises a rotary printing drum 1 enclosed together withco-operating 'mechanism in a casing 2 and projecting through an openingma top plate 3 of the casing over which letters or othermattertobestampedare :fed

a section on the line6- "6 of operating automaticallylunder handcontrolguide plates 18 extend radially outwards and'apressureroller 3a.r The pressure; roller 3a is carriedby a bel crank lever 4 loadedby aspring '5 which i so as to pass between theprinting drum '1 normallypresses the roller 3a downwards soras to grip the letters orother matterbetween the roller 3a and drum 1. :A- hand lever 6 is provided" by whichthe roller 3a can be liftedagainst the action of the spring 5 whenrequired .to free a letter or other article -grippedbetweenthe drum landroller 3a for the purpose ofremoval or adjustment. a r i V v Theprinting drum 1 is fixed on a shaft 7 and is adapted to be rotated forthe purpose of feeding a letter1or other article "through theinachine bymeans Oran external crank handle 8 on the shaft 7 The crank'handle 8carries a stopp'in 9 adapted'normally to abut a fixed lug 10 so as toarrest the handlelin the position shown inthe drawings, the pin 9 being.capable of being withdrawn against the action of aspring by pulling onthe handle piece 11 so that it can be disengaged from the lug ,10 atwill topermit the handle to be turned. A ratchet and pawl 1a disposedwithin the casing 1 prevents reverse" rotation of the printing drum. iMounted adjacent the printing drum and eccentrically thereto isa'cylindrical magazine 12- (Figures 2, 5 and 6) fixed to a rotary shaft13 which projects through the casing 1 to a handle 13a. The magazine12'contains a series of interchangeable value stamp or franking dies,@one of which is shown at 14 iii-Figures 5 and 6 and any one of whichcan be transferred from the-magazine'12 to the printing drum 1 andbackagain by-the action of sliding pushers carried on a sliding'rod 15whichprojects through'one side of the casing to an external handle 16,

Each of the value dies 14ais secured to a bevelled plate 17 (see Figures5 and 6) in such a manner that the plates 17 each with diel attached,have sliding engagement with the bevelled edges of a series-of radialguide plates 18 and 19 formed in the magazine 12 as shown iniFigures 5and 6. s The from an inner cylindrical wall 20 of the magazine 12 whilstthe guide plates 19 extend inwardly from an outer cylindrical -wall 21of the magazine 12 and each of the plates 17 with its die 14 attached issupported at its edges only by sliding engagement with the edges of theelements 18 and 19. Although only one plate 17 with die 14 attached isshown in Figure 5 of the drawings, it is to be understood that themagazine carries a series of dies 14 each attached to a plate 17 andsupported between the edges of a pair of guide plates 18 and 19.

The magazine 12 can be rotated by the handle 13a to bring any one of theelements 14, 17, therein into alignment with a slot 22 in a die holder23 fixed to the printing drum 1, and the magazine is held releasably inany one of its adjusted positions by the en gagement of a spring-pressedroller 24 with one of a series of recesses 25 formed in the edge of acam disc 26 fixed to the magazine spindle 13. The spindle 13 alsocarries a disc 27 (see Figures 2, 3, and 4) carrying a series ofperipheral number plates 28 one of which is visible through a window 29in the top plate 3 for the purpose of indicating the position to whichthe magazine has been adjusted.

' The rod 15 carries two pushers 30 and 31 which are normally disposedat opposite sides of the printing drum as shown in Figure 2 so as toreceive the element 14, 17 in the printing drum between them when theprinting drum reaches the position shown in thedrawings. r

The pusher 30 is formed witha head 32 (Figures 1 and 6) shaped to'fitthe slot 22 and capable of pushing the element'14, 17 from the printingdrum back into its place in V the magazine 12 when the rod 15 is movedto the position shown in Figure 6; When the rod 15'is in the positionshown in Figure 6 the magazine 12 can be rotatedto select a new die 14,and the pusher 31 enables the new die to be transferred from themagazine to the printing drum,

The pusher 31 is in the form of a cylindrical rod which can slidethrough the magazine 12 and which enters the same through one of aseries of holes 33 formed at appropriate positions in the side wall ofthe magazine 12 as shown in Figure 5. The engagement of the pusher 31with one of the. holes 33 inthe wall of the magazine 12 prevents.

the magazine from being rotated after a value die has been transferredto the printing drum by a movement of the rod 15 to the position shownin Figure 2 and thus maintains the magazine in position to receive thevalue die back again before being adjusted to select afresh value die tobe transferred-to the printing drum.

The pusher 30 is designed to remainin engagement with the groove 22after a value die has been returned to the magazine by a movement of therod 15 to the position shown in Figure 6 and thus prevents rotation ofthe printing drum whilst a new die is being selected. As can be seen inFigure 2 of the drawings, the pusher 30 becomes disengaged from the slot22 when a selected die has been transferred from the magazine to theprinting drum by movement of the rod 15 to the position shown in Figure2.

' The printing drum shaft 7 is geared by skew gears 34 (Figure 4) to ashaft 35 which is geared through toothed gearing 36 to a squared shaft37 disposed horizontally in the lower part of the machine and adapted topose of registering in the counter the total value of stamps impressed.

The adjustable gearing consists of a series of mutilated gear wheels '39fixed together and mounted to slide on the shaft 37 and to rotatetherewith, such mutilated gear wheels being capable of being broughtselectively into engagement with two toothed pinions 40 and 41 fixed onparallel shafts 42, 43, one of which drives the units wheel of thecounter 38 whilst the other drives the tens wheel thereof.

The cam disc 26 is formed with a spiral cam slot 44' (see Figure 5)which is engaged by a pin 45 on one arm of a bell crank lever 46 whoseother arm is formed with a yoke 47 (see Figures 4 and 6) adapted toshift the mutilated gear wheels 39 in accordance with the adjustment ofthe magazine 12. The mutilated gear wheels 39 are so designed that theywillclear the pinions 40 and 41 when the printing drum is in theposition shown in the" drawings, so as to permit the mutilated gears tobe shifted as the magazine 12 is rotated, but when the printing drum isrotated one or both .of the pinions 40 and 41 is rotated by selectednumbers of the mutilated gear wheels so as to rotate the units and/ortens wheels of the counter 38 to advance the counter through a distanceproportional to the stamp impressed.

The mutilated gear wheels are arranged to rotate the sprocket wheels 40and 41 successively, so that the rotation of the tens wheel, when thatoccurs, will not interfere with any carrying-over motion which mayresult from the rotation of the units wheel, and a ratchet shaft 42. Thecarrying-over mechanismocon sists of a tooth 52'on theunits spindleco-opcrating-with a-star-wheel-53 on the tens spindle. The star-wheel.53 is loose on the tens spindle and is arranged to drive the samethrough a ratchet wheel54 andiratchet pawl 55, which permits thespindle4l2 to drive the spindle 49 when the starpwheel 54-.is-locked bythe tooth 52 as shown in Figure 7 Each of the spindles 42, 43, is heldagainst accidental rotation by astar wheel 56 and spring-pressed tappet57 (see Figure ,2). o 1

Theprinting drum 1 is adapted .to make :a single :rotation for everyoperation of the machineiand operates to feeda letter or other articlebetween the pressure roller 3a and the printing drumandtoimpress uponsuch artiole a valuestamp,.a cancellation and dating stamp andadvertising or other matter. The printing drum is of generallycylindrical form but has a flattened portion 30a;which is locatedbeneath the pressure roller Elrtwhen the printing drum is in theposition shown in the drawings so as to enable a letter or other articleto be introduced between the printing drum and pressure roller andadjusted to a suitable position. The movement of the'lever 4 is limitedby a stop (not shown) so that the pressure. roller does not engage theflattened part'30aiof theprinting drum but permits a letter or likearticle to be moved freely between the pressure rollerand this part ofthe printingidrum. The top-plate 3 may be provided'with aguidefiafor theedge of a letter or with guide lines or any other suitable means tofacilitate adjustment of letters or other articles on the plate 3 forthe purposes of securing uniformity astothe positions at which the'franking stamps and other workings are printed on the letters or otherarticles.

A cancellation and dating stamp die 58, which may be of any suitableconstruction, is slidably fitted'in the printing drum so that it can beremoved laterallythrough a suitable door (not shown) in theside of thecasing for adjustment or for other purposes, andin order to facilitateits withdrawal and replacement it is provided in'its bottom face with adovetail groove flared at its ends and adapted to engage a fixed guide59 disposed betweenthe side of theprinting drum and the side Wall of thecasing as shown in Figure 3 so as to guide the die into and out of themachine. p

A die 60 carrying the advertising or other desired matter issimilarlymounted on the printing drum and is guided into and out of the machineby means of a guide .61 (Figure 2) similar to the guide 59..

In order to prevent accidental displacement of the several dies in theirgrooves on the printing drum during rotation of the printing drum,it ispreferred to arrange frame plates 2a lying close to the drum on eitherfeed rollers 63, 63a and an ink receptacleti l.

having its bottom wall formed-with a slot which lies close tolthesurface of the feed roller 63. The ink receptacle, feed rollers V andinking roller are mounted on. aframe ;65

which is pivoted at 66 to a fixed support-and is supported by a spring67 which. has the effect of pressing the inking roller towards thesurface. of the printing drum so as to enable the inking rollertorollonthe dies 14, 58 and 60 as the printing drum rotates. A stop 68 limitsthe movement of the printing roller so'as toprevent itfrom engaging thesurface of the printingudrum .atpoints' between the dies. V

Ink is delivered to the receptacle 64 in measured quantitiesfrom'acapsule 69 fixed on the top plate 3 and provided in its bottomwall with delivery ports 70 controlled by a spring loaded valve71Wl'llCl'llS adaptedto be opened automatically against-the action ofthe spring when a cap 72 having pin and slot engagement withthecapsuleis applied to close the capsule (see Figure '1), Wh'en the cap72 is removedthecapsulei69 can be I filled with ink and whenthe caplisreplaced the ink contained in the capsule is delivered through the ports70 to an'inclined chute73 which-delivers the ink to thereeeptacle 64(see Figure I Theintermediate feed roller 63a is journalled in L-shapedslots 7a inaU-shapedplate' LOO 7 5 which is slidably supported on theframe 65 and controlledby'a handle 76 accessible through a door in thecasing 1. V The feed roller 63a is normally pressed into engagement withthe inking roller 62 and feed roller 63 by springs 77 but can bedisengaged by sliding the plate 7 5 s0 as to bring the spindle of thefeed roller 63a into the horizontal parts of the L-shaped slots' M.

In the operation ofthe machine, assuming that the parts are-in thepositions shown in Figures 1 to 3 and that the desired value stamp hasbeen selected, when it'is desired to stamp a letter-or other-article,the article is presented between the printingidrum and the pressureroller. and the printing drum is turned through onerevolution by pullingon the handle piece 11 of thecrankhandl-efiso as-to release the pin 9andturning the crank handle until the pin 9 again engagesthelug 10. Thisoperation will usually feed the letter or other article completelythrough the machine and so eject it from between the printing drum andthe pressure roller, but if the article is of unusual length it may benecessary to raise the pressure roller by means of the lever 6 for thepurpose of releasing the article after it has been stamped. When thearticle to be stamped'is of unusual thickness it may be necessary toraise the pressure roller by means of the handle 6 so as to facilitatethe introduction of the article between the printing drum and pressureroller.

When it is desired to change the value of the stamp to be impressed thehandle 16 is pulled out so as to shift the rod 15 to the position shownin Figure 6 of the drawings thus transferring the value die 14 which waspreviously in use from the printing drum to the magazine. By this actionthe printing drum is locked against rotation owing to the engagementofthe pusher 30 with the slot 22, and the magazine is freed owing to thedisengagement of the pusher 81 from the opening 33 in the magazine. Thehandle 13a is now rotated so as to adjust the magazine to theappropriate angular position for selecting the desired value die asindicated by the corresponding number plate 28 visible through thewindow 29 (see Figure l) whereupon the handle 16 is returned to itsoriginal position so as to transfer the selected die from the magazineto the printing drum by shifting rod 15 back to the position shown inFigures 2 and 3. This movement of the rod 15 releases the printing drumowing to the disengagement of'the pusher 30 from the slot 22 and locksthe magazine against rotation owing to the engagement of the pusher 31withone of the. openings 33 in the magazine. The machine is then readyfor further use. The rotation of the shaft 13 adjusting the magazine toselect a new value die also adjusts the mutilated gear wheels 39 throughthe action of the cam disc 26 and bell crank lever 46 as hereinbeforedescribed, so that every time the printing drum shaft 7 is rotated toimpress a value stamp the counter 38 is advanced by an amountproportional to the value of the'stamp impressed.

The machine above described, providing as it does a relatively widerange of values, does not in the ordinary Way require a letter or thelike to be inserted twice for the repetition of a value stamp or theaddition'of a second value stamp of different value from the first,

. but if the circumstances require such repetition the pressure rollercan be lifted by the lever 6 so as to facilitate adjustment of theletter for the purpose of impressing the value stamps in the desiredpositions. g

The machine above described is not limited in its application to theimpression of frankthe like.

I claim I 1. A machine for printing postal franks on mail mattercomprising a rotary printing drum, 2. pressure roller, means for feedingthe mail matter between said drum and pressure roller, a magazinemounted adjacent said printing drum, a series of interchangeable stampdies slidably carried in said magazine, a easing enclosing said stampdrum and magazine, mechanism having an external actuating handle foradjusting said magazine to bring any selected one ofsaidinterchangeabledies into a position to be transferred from the magazine to the printingdrum, mechanism having an external operating handle for transferring theselected die from said magazine to said printing drum and for returningthe same to said magazine, means for lock-- ing said magazine againstmovement when a die is transferred to the printing drum, and means forlocking the printing drum against rotation when said die is returned tothe magazine.

2. A machine for printing postal franks on mail-matter comprising arotary printing drum, a pressure roller, means for feeding articles tobe franked between said printing drum and pressure roller, a magazinemountedadjacent said printing drum, a series of interchangeable stampdies carried in said magazine, a casing enclosing said printing drum andmagazine, means for adjusting said magazine to bring any selected one ofsaid interchangeable dies into azposition to be transferred from themagazine to the printing drum, a sliding pusher for transferring saidselecteddie from the magazine to the printing drum, said pusher havingengagement. with said magazine for locking said magazine againstmovement when a die is transferred to the printing drum, a secondsliding pusher for returning'the die from the printing drum to themagazine, said second pusher having engagement with said printing drumfor locking theprinting drum against rotation when the die has been returned to the magazine, a sliding carrier for said pushers and anexternal manipulating handle operatively connected to said slidmgcarrier. I

3. A machine according to claim 1 wherein the magazine comprises arotary cylindrical body mounted adjacent the printing drum and formedwith radial guide plates between which the interchangeable dies aresupported by engagement at their edges with the edges of the guideplates.

Intestimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

FRANK EDW'ARD LANGDON.

